I recently switched from clarinet to mellophone and noticed that after each band period almost my entire left and right palms were green. I was wondering if I should get some of those fingerless/knuckleless gloves. Is that green stuff even healthy for me?

The green is simply a reaction with the brass of the mellophone.
You can wear gloves and they will turn green also. The green is not toxic.

Option 1
Something I have done in the past (some people like it some do not) is get some clear plastic tubing from HomeDepot or Lowes. Cut a slit in the tubing and place it over the parts you touch. This will keep your gloves and you from getting green from the brass.

Option 2
Make aleather or fabric hand guard. Wrap and tie it around the tubes you touch.

Option 3
You have to get permission for this - clean the area really really really well. And then spray some lacquer/polyeurathane over the area. Make sure you do this in a clean area, you don't want any dirt or dust in there.

I think I'll make a hand guard. Thanks for the idea!

You could make it out of leather OR go to the fabric store and make it in your school colors !

I've never noticed the brass players' hands turning green. Is it just with very old instruments or what?

Typically it is with older instruments.If your instrument has a coat of lacquer it will not happen. However, it is when you have direct contact with the raw brass that the reaction occurs. It is simply a dezincification process and is a normal reaction when your sweat reacts with raw brass.

For the earlier poster (And anyone else (Band Directors) who might want to improve the image of and longevity of your instruments). If you have school instruments that lacquer has come off you can do some simple refinishing yourself.

This is for older school instruments. This is NOT intended for high quality professional type instruments.

!!!! THIS IS ONLY TO BE DONE WITH THE BAND DIRECTORS PERMISSION !!!!!
Clean the exposed area with DAWN dishwashing detergent (use the original orange colored one not the scented ones).
Dry the area completly.
Polish the area with Flitz or Maas.(Brand name brass cleaner) DO NOT use Brasso or any other coarse polish.
Then clean and spray special lacquer on it - you can get is from Voltaw tools.
(http://www.votawtool.com/zcom.asp?pg=products&grp=745)